UniSZA develops Taman Rimba Tanah BRIS at Besut Campus

BESUT, March 31 (Bernama) -- About 40.5 hectares out of a total of 390 hectares of land at the Besut Campus of Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA) has been gazetted as the first bris soil forest reserve in the country.

Its vice-chancellor Prof Dr Fadzli Adam said the permanent reserve will be known as Taman Rimba Ilmu Tanah BRIS UniSZA (TRIBE).

For the uninitiated, bris (beach ridges interspersed with swales) soil is mainly found in the coastal areas of the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia.

 “The TRIBE is one of the projects to realise a green campus and to encourage more cooperation with various agencies for research, innovation, and conservation.

“TRIBE is also the landmark of the UniSZA Besut Campus because it is a bris soil forest reserve in a public university that is rich in flora and fauna biodiversity,” he said in his speech during the state-level International Forest Day 2022 celebration at the UniSZA Besut Campus here today.

The celebration was officiated by Terengganu Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar. State Forestry Department director Roslan Rani was also in attendance.

 According to Fadzli there are more than 100 species of plants in the TRIBE area including merawan siput jantan, merawan bunga, balau pasir, gelam, penaga lilin, meranti sarang punai, karas, kembang semangkuk and many more. 

“In the meantime, a total of 5,100 trees of various species have been planted by UniSZA staff, in collaboration with the Terengganu Forestry Department, from March 27 to 30,” he added.

He said that the TRIBE management model will be developed as a more comprehensive management guide for forest care.

 -- BERNAMA